There has been a huge amount of debate about public funding for the on-campus football stadium at South Alabama. But what was lost in all that talk was the fact that South Alabama was continuing with plans to build the state-of-the-art facility.

This week, the school announced that the new facility will be called Hancock Whitney Bank Stadium. The school and the bank agreed on a 10-plan deal for the naming rights. The exact financial agreement was not announced publicly, but suffice to say the money is a major step step toward funding the $70-plus million stadium.

The first game on campus will be in 2020 when Grambling State visits. Other home games in 2020 include Troy and UAB. That’s a great slate for the first season on campus.

South Alabama has to put a great product on the field in order for this to work out. But kudos to the school for moving forward with the project even in the face of stumbles when it comes to public money. Because of that determination, Mobile is only 20 months away from college football in a beautiful on-campus stadium.